Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel have signed on to lead the drama "Lion" for The Weinstein Company. The film is based on a real-life story chronicled in a Vanity Fair article called "A Home at the End of Google Earth" about a five-year-old boy lost in Calcutta who’s adopted by an Australian couple. After graduating college, he decides to track down his roots using Google Earth. Patel will play the boy while Jackman and Kidman will star as the Australian couple. This is the second collaboration for Jackman and Kidman after Baz Luhrmann's "Australia", and Patel will also star alongside Jackman in Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi film "Chappie". "Lion" is currently being shopped around to distributors and it doesn't yet have a director, but surely with such actors attached to it, it shouldn't have much trouble attracting some interesting names.

A short but very effective final trailer as well as the Empire Magazine covers for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" have been released. The first part of this final chapter in the trilogy is directed by Francis Lawrence ("Catching Fire") and it stars Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Evan Ross, Natalie Dormer, Mahershala Ali, Wes Chatham, Elden Henson and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1" opens in theaters on November 21, 2014.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The first images for "Terminator: Genysis" have been released (via Entertainment Weekly), giving us a long-awaited first look at the cast of the upcoming "reset". Yeah, that's what they're calling it. Not a reboot, nor a sequel, but a "reset". The film will apparently use the original film as a foundation, as Kyle Reese will indeed travel back to 1984, but things won't play out the same way as they did in James Cameron's classic, leading to an alternate timeline. As unnecessary as that might sound it's not entirely a bad idea, I just fear it's going to be poorly executed. Anyway, they've been trying to get another Terminator movie off the ground since 2009, so I suppose they were getting desperate. After the jump you can view all the images released by EW along with some interviews that will offer more information about the plot and characters. The film stars Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Matt Smith, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi and Byung Hun Lee.

Three new posters have been released for Ridley Scott's "Exodus: Gods and Kings". The Biblical epic chronicles the story of Moses (Christian Bale) and his rise against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton). The posters highlight the conflict between the two, but I'm a little disappointed at how ordinary they look. I'm sure a movie this big could afford better posters. The cast also features Aaron Paul, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver and John Turturro.

Two trailers and three posters have been released for the sci-fi thriller "Ex Machina". The film is "28 Days Later" writer Alex Garland's directorial debut and it stars Domhnall Gleeson as a young programmer who is selected by his reclusive employer (Oscar Isaac) to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of Ava (Alicia Vikander) a breathtaking A.I. who proves to be more deceptive than anyone thought.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Marvel is definitely not wasting time. The studio announced their full line-up of "Phase 3" movies with full titles and official release dates, as well as some new details about plot and characters. First of all, here is the full Phase 3 list:

Captain America: Civil War - May 6, 2016.

Doctor Strange - November 4, 2016.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 5, 2017.

Thor: Ragnarok - July 28, 2017.

Black Panther - November 3, 2017.

Captain Marvel - July 6, 2018.

Inhumans - November 2, 2018.

Avengers: Infinity War - Part I - May 4, 2018

Avengers: Infinity War - Part II - May 3, 2019

If you're wondering why there's no Iron Man movie in there, that's because "Captain America: Civil War" will include Iron Man as the villain. More details on that here. All the films will be released in 3D. Also, there will be no Hulk or Black Widow solo movies.

As previously reported, Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks to lead "Doctor Strange" and the film will be directed by Scott Derrickson.

"42" star Chadwick Boseman will star in "Black Panther", and the actor has signed a five-film contract with Marvel which will begin with an appearance in "Captain America: Civil War", where he will play a major part, and will continue throughout Phase 3. Marvel has also released a concept art image of the Black Panther costume which you can view on the right. The Black Panther, also known as T'Challa, is the first black superhero in mainstream comic books. The name Black Panther is actually a ceremonial title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of an advanced African nation of Wakanda. There is a lot more to the story of this character, but it would just take too much space here, so I encourage you to take a peek at the Wikipedia page for the character if you'd like to learn more about him.

The plot of "Thor: Ragnarok" is pretty much unknown at this point, but rumors indicate that it will focus on Stark using a sample of Thor's hair to create a clone after Thor goes missing. Kevin Feige said that Ragnarok will take place immediately after the events of "Avengers: Age of Ultron", so it's reasonable to assume that it will cause some major damage to the Avengers roster. The clone will then take a stand among those who are pro-Superhuman Registration Act, a conflict that will be at the center of "Captain America: Civil War".

"Captain Marvel" has been rumored for some time, but it's now official. Producer Kevin Feige has revealed some details about the film:

"This Captain Marvel’s name is Carol Danvers. This film has been in the works almost as long as Doctor Strange or Guardians of the Galaxy before it came out, and one of the key things was figuring out what we wanted to do with it. Her adventures are very earthbound, but her powers are based in the cosmic realm."

According to Marvel.com, Carol Danvers worked her way from the Air Force Academy and the CIA, to becoming the NASA security director at Cape Canaveral. Here she encounters Captain Marvel, a Kree warrior. Danvers becomes Ms. Marvel after an explosion of a Kree Psyche-Magneton device turns her into a Kree-human hybrid. It is unknown at this point how she'll fit in with the rest of the Phase 3 films, and no actress has been selected for the part.

But, the coolest of the lot is the epic third installment of "The Avengers" which will be split into two movies, "Avengers: Infinity War Part I" and "Avengers: Infinity War Part II". The film will feature the villain Thanos, who will be played by Josh Brolin. Thanos has been on a quest for the six Infinity Stones which he intends to apply to the Infinity Gauntlet which will turn him into an unstoppable force. Many superheroes are expected to die, which will probably change the roster for Phase 4 to some degree. Time will tell. Until then, here's a short video teasing Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet.

The first clip from "Avengers: Age of Ultron" has appeared online today and it features a fun little scene taking place in Tony Stark's penthouse where the Avengers are having a party that is about to get seriously crashed. The sequel's villain is Ultron (James Spader), a robot created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) that decides humanity should be exterminated. The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Serkis, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders and Paul Bettany.

Eight new interactive posters for "Insurgent", the second film in "The Divergent Series", have been released today. The posters have been released throughout the day, one per hour, and the application embeded in this article after the jump contains all eight of them. To access all the posters click on the bottom-left icon (the one with the three parallel lines) after it finishes loading. The sequel stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Theo James, Naomi Watts, Maggie Q, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz and Octavia Spencer

"The Divergent Series: Insurgent" opens in theaters on March 20, 2015 (in 3D).

It's time for a new trailer for the family film "Paddington". The story of the Peruvian bear who arrives in London in search of a home has suffered some changes. Originally Colin Firth was in the process of voicing Paddington, but left the project for personal reasons and was replaced by Ben Whishaw. The new trailer tries very hard to sell this movie, but since kids are the target audience, I don't think they should try this hard. After all, the bear is cute enough to pack them into theaters. I have a feeling, though, that their parents will not enjoy it very much. The film also stars Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Nicole Kidman.

"Paddington" opens in theaters in the U.S. on January 16th and on November 28th in the U.K.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

In the past weeks there were many rumors regarding who would star in the upcoming "Doctor Strange" movie. At first there was Joaquin Phoenix, who entered negotiations but walked away for unknown reasons. Then the rumor mill began to buzz, spewing out names like Keanu Reeves, Justin Theroux, Tom Hardy, Johnny Depp and Jared Leto.

Now it appears that Benedict Cumberbatch ("Star Trek Into Darkness") will play Marvel's Doctor Strange. Although it's far from being a done deal, the actor will begin negotiations with the studio. Produced by Kevin Feige, the film will be directed by Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") from a script by Jon Spaihts ("Prometheus"). The release date is expected to be set sometime in Summer 2016.

The Doctor Strange comics first came out in the early 1960s. The protagonist is a former neurosurgeon who serves as a protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats.

The first trailer and poster for the Abraham Lincoln biopic "The Better Angels" have been released. The film is produced by Terrence Malick ("The Tree of Life") and directed by Malick's longtime editor and second-unit director A.J. Edwards, and it's obvious from the trailer that there are a lot of influences from Malick himself. The poetic drama focuses on the formative years of the future president and the two women who molded him into one of the most revered men in American history. The film stars Braydon Denney, Jason Clarke, Brit Marling, Diane Kruger and Wes Bentley.

The new international trailer for the horror film "The Woman in Black: Angel of Death" reveals a lot more about the story than the previous trailers which were only focused on the film's creepy atmosphere. The sequel takes place 40 years after the events of the first film, as a group of school children are evacuated from London during the Blitz of World War II and end up at Eel Marsh House where they will feel the wrath of The Woman in Black. The cast features Helen McCrory, Jeremy Irvine, Phoebe Fox, Adrian Rawlins, Amelia Pidgeon and Ned Dennehy.

"The Woman in Black: Angel of Death" opens in theaters on January 20th, 2015.

A new red band trailer and clip have been released for Dan Gilroy's dark drama "Nightcrawler". Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. The trailer and clip hint at something more than just crime drama. It looks like there's also a layer of dark humor that previous trailers haven't highlighted. The new red band trailer itself makes hilarious use of quotes from the critics' reviews. Bill Paxton, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed and Ann Cusack also star.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Two new teaser posters and a featurette for "Fast & Furious 7" (newly titled "Furious 7") have been released in anticipation of the trailer's premiere seven days from now. The featurette, titled "The Road to Furious 7", is a retrospective of the previous six films, sort of like a "previously on Fast & Furious". The new installment is directed by James Wan ("Saw", "Insidious") and it stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Elsa Pataky, Ronda Rousey, Tony Jaa, Nathalie Emmanuel, Lucas Black, John Brotherton, Djimon Hounsou and Kurt Russell.

DreamWorks has released four new behind-the-scenes featurettes and a bunch of character posters for their upcoming animated feature "The Penguins of Madagascar", which is a spinoff of the studio's "Madagascar" franchise. The titular penguins set off an a new mission to save the world from the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine. The film features the voices Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Ken Jeong, Annet Mahendru and Peter Stormare.

"The Penguins of Madagascar" opens in theaters on November 26th (2D and 3D).

A new extended featurette and some new Entertainment Weekly images have been released for the musical "Into the Woods". Directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago"), the film is a modern twist on several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and the featurette takes us deeper into the universe of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical. The cast features James Corden, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Meryl Streep, Daniel Huttlestone, Tracey Ullman, Billy Magnussen, Lucy Punch, Mackenzie Mauzy and Christine Baranski.

The first trailer and poster for the sequel "Insidious: Chapter 3" have been released. Directed by franchise writer Leigh Whannell, the film is prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family and it focuses on psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) who agrees to user her abilities to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a malevolent supernatural entity. Dermot Mulroney, Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell also star.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

It's hard to compete with a horror film in the pre-Halloween weekend, which is why "Ouija" had little competition this week. The PG-13 flick earned $20 million in its first three days and it could continue its solid run throughout the Halloween weekend.

However, the High Achiever of the Week Award belongs to "John Wick", Keanu Reeves's highly acclaimed return to action form. The film opened in second place with $14 million, a modest sum, but more than was initially predicted. While the film didn't have much of a publicity campaign, it did receive plenty of glowing reviews and it's currently rated 8,3 on IMdB.com, which could translate to a solid word-of-mouth advantage in the following week, as opposed to "Ouija" which is scored 4,3 on the same website.

"Fury" maintained a solid second week in third place, earning another $13 million this weekend, which brings its domestic total to $46 million, not a lot when compared to its $68 million budget. "Gone Girl" follows close behind with $11 million. David Fincher's thriller is enjoying a more comfortable box-office performance with a worldwide total of $242 million split roughly even between domestic and foreign markets.

The top 5 is rounded up by "The Book of Life" which only fell 29% from the previous weekend, raising another $9.8 million for a $29.9 million domestic total.

This post contains all the news, trailers, movie clips, DVD/Blu-Ray releases and many more, that you may have missed in the last seven days, arranged in an accessible manner. Just browse and click the article titles you want to read. Read the full article to check out the weekly summary.

When you think of Patrick Stewart, you immediately think of Star Trek's Jean-Luc Picard or X-Men's Professor X. But the man actually does real acting outside of his franchise roles. And it looks like we'll get to see him do some more of that in writer/director Jeremy Saulnier's new crime thriller "Green Room" where Stewart will play a white supremacist leader. The film's story revolves around a punk rock band that find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after witnessing an act of horrifying violence, forcing them to fight for their lives against a gang of skinheads determined to wipe out all witnesses.

Stewart's skinhead boss is Darcy Banker, described as "the unflinching and industrial leader of a ferocious white supremacist fiefdom based in the Pacific Northwest". Upon hearing about this bit of news, I immediately though of Patrick Stewart's role in the 1998 thriller "Dad Savage", which probably nobody remembers now, but where he delivered an over-the-top bizzare performance that you must see to believe.

Three new clips have been released for the horror "Ouija". Based on the popular Ouija Board game, the film follows a group of friends who must confront their fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board. This is yet another collaboration between producers Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller and Jason Blum, the same people who have delivered other low-budget horrors like "The Purge" and the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake. The film stars Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, Bianca Santos and Ana Coto.

Five new clips have been released for the drama "White Bird in a Blizzard". An adaptation of the 1999 novel by Laura Kasischke, the film stars Shailene Woodley as a Kat, a teenager who is faced with the sudden disappearance of her mother (Eva Green), just as she is discovering and relishing her newfound sexuality. Kat is forced to deal with her conflicting emotions and denial as she begins to realize how deeply her mother's disappearance has affected her. The cast also features Shiloh Fernandez, Christopher Meloni, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane and Angela Basset.

Three new clips and a behind-the-scenes featurette have been released for the dramedy "Laggies". The film stars Keira Knightley as a 28-year-old facing a life crisis who hides out in the home of her 16-year-old friend (Chloe Grace Moretz) when her high school boyfriend (Mark Webber) pops the big question. The featurette is the most interesting of the new videos as it features Knightley and co-star Sam Rockwell candidly answering questions about themselves. It's actually very funny, mostly due to Rockwell, and it's an original way to advertise a movie. The cast also features Jeff Garlin and Gretchen Mol.

The action film "John Wick" opens in theaters today, so here are three new clips and four TV spots. The awesome actioner stars Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman who makes a vengeful comeback after some gangsters steal his car and kill his late wife's dog. As ridiculous as that might sound, the film is on its way to becoming a cult classic. Reviews so far are extrmeley enthusiastic, praising the film's unique universe, the great action choreography and Reeves' performance which many say is the best in his ass-kicking career. Directed by stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski the film also stars Adrianne Palicki, Willem Dafoe, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, Jason Isaacs, Alfie Allen, Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo and Michael Nyqvist.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Neil Patrick Harris has been chosen to host the 2015 Oscars on February 22, 2015. The accomplished actor has plenty of experience in this regard having hosted numerous Tony and Emmy Awards shows in the past. While Ellen Degeneres received positive feedback for her hosting performance last year, she declined the offer to return next year. Harris was not the second choice either, as producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron also asked Chris Rock, who previously hosted in 2005, and "Veep" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but both turned down the offer.

But, behind-the-scenes drama aside, Neil Patrick Harris does have the talent to pull off a solid awards-night performance, and there's even the possibility that he'll do some musical numbers. Time will tell. Until then, here is the Academy's official press release:

"Award-winning star of stage and screen Neil Patrick Harris will host the 87th Oscars®, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. This will be Harris’ first time hosting the ceremony. The show will air live on ABC on Oscar® Sunday, February 22, 2015.

“We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars,” said Zadan and Meron. “We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage. To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”

“It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards. I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show,” said Harris. “To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”

“We share Craig and Neil’s excitement in welcoming the incredibly talented Neil Patrick Harris,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. “He is the consummate entertainer. Neil’s distinctive charm and showmanship make him the ideal host to honor the Oscar legacy and insure we all enjoy another unforgettable celebration.”

“Neil is a terrific actor, singer, risk-taker and collaborator,” said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO. “We can’t wait to see the show that he, Craig and Neil create together.”

“Neil Patrick Harris is highly energetic and a definitive entertainer,” said Paul Lee. “We are thrilled to have him as our 2015 Oscar host.”

A triple-threat performer, Harris has enjoyed a successful career in entertainment. He can currently be seen starring opposite Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in David Fincher’s critically-acclaimed feature film, “Gone Girl.” Harris garnered multiple Emmy® and Golden Globe award nominations for his role as Barney Stinson on the hit television series, “How I Met Your Mother,” and he won an Emmy for his guest-starring role on “Glee” in 2010. He also recently starred in the title role of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, earning the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris served as host of the 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the 63rd, 65th, 66th and 67th Tony Awards, for which he won four Emmys. Most recently, Harris added the title of author to his list of accomplishments with the release of his autobiography from Crown Publishing, Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography.

The last two Oscars telecasts, which were produced by Zadan and Meron, received a major spike in the ratings. The 86th Oscars was TV’s most-watched entertainment event in 10 years and attracted the biggest viewership since 2000, with more than 45 million viewers. The show resulted in dramatic gains in younger demos and social media conversation, with more than one billion impressions generated on Twitter and 25 million interactions happening on Facebook on Oscar Sunday. Additionally, the star-studded “selfie” became the most retweeted photo of all time with 32.8 million views.

The Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 4:00 p.m., ET/7:00 p.m., PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide."

The first trailer and poster for the thriller "The Gambler" have been released. A remake of the 1974 drama of the same name, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a literature professor with a gambling problem who is forced to immerse himself in an illicit, underground world, taking the ultimate risk for a second chance. Directed by Rupert Wyatt ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") from a script by William Monahan ("The Departed"), the film also stars Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, John Goodman and Michael K. Williams.

The first teaser trailer and poster for Joss Whedon's sequel "Avengers: Age of Ultron" have been released. The new installment will pit the Avengers against a new foe, the artificially intelligent Ultron (James Spader), a robot created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in an attempt to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program that has now become a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. The trailer effectively sets the mood for what is going to be a seemingly dark movie and I must say that Ultron appears to be an intriguing villain. The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Serkis, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders and Paul Bettany.

The first trailer and a batch of 15 images have been released for Xbox's upcoming digital series "Halo: Nightfall". The live-action series, produced by Ridley Scott, will serve as a prequel to "Halo 5: Guardians" and it follows the origin story of legendary manhunter Jameson Locke (Mike Colter) and his team as they are caught in a horrific terrorist attack while investigating terrorist activity on the distant colony world of Sedra. Sergio Mimica-Gezan directed the series from a script penned by Paul Scheuring (creator of "Prison Break").

"Halo: Nightfall" will be released on November 11th with "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" for Xbox One. The first episode will premiere on November 10th as part of the HaloFest livestream.

David Ayer's "Fury" is now in theaters and has already made its mark at the box-office ranking first in its opening weekend, although the domestic profits are not exactly spectacular. Which is probably why the publicity campaign for the movie is still going. Today we have five new character posters featuring the actors playing the crew of the titular tank: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal. The film also stars Jason Isaacs, Anamaria Marinca, Xavier Samuel and Jim Parrack.

The first trailer, images and poster for the indie horror film "Starry Eyes" have been released. Written and directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer, the film tells the story of a hopeful young starlet (Alex Essoe) who uncovers the ominous origins of the Hollywood elite and enters into a deadly agreement in exchange for fame and fortune. Noah Segan, Amanda Fuller and Pat Healy also star.

"Starry Eyes" will be available in theaters and on VOD starting November 14th.